It's hard being intelligent in america today

[backbreaker]

I'm sorry I have to rant. I have learned better me to rant to people I most likely will never see than to wake up my wife or to talk to my 2 and a half year old son who will look at me and ask for cookies. Anyway, I mean, I'm not Doogie Howser or anything, and I'm not going to put in comparison how intelligent I am in comparison to anyone else because I don't' know anyone here, but I'm not stupid. I'm actually pretty intelligent. More than that, I have a thirst for knowledge. I like to learn, I enjoy learning new things. So I am always learning stuff, always opening my mind.

Between the air head women and the douche bag dudes that don't know anything about anything other than how to beat Skyrim or where to find good porn sites, I just get pissed off trying to have a normal conversation with a person, or what I like to think is a thought provoking conversation. I do not like ignorance whatsoever.

It just pisses me off, actually pisses me off how people can be so closed minded and not give a ****. To not know anything about anything and not give a damn. To take pride in not knowing anything.


I think this is the real reason why I don't have very many friends. I have people that want to BE my friend, I have associates but I don't have very many friends. It's another reason I prefer people not to talk politics around me because like, don't' let me find out you are actually ignorant because now I want nothing to do with you. It's like people can't wait to show you how ignorant they are by not shutting up. LIke I mean, I don't expect my wife to be Campbell brown or antyhing when it cconversation omes to politics but she reads the papers and she can hold a and know what the F she is talking about without sounding like an idiot. She has the ability to look at something and form her own opinions on something which is rare these days.

I just.. lol, I just don't like people. I just don't' like ignorant people at all.

I mean there are times you want to have a healthy debate about something or something is on your mind and you wouldn't mind talking about it with someone else to get a different point of view the **** is impossible these days.

 

[Vice]

wut?

 

[Alle_Gory]

how to beat Skyrim

Don't you talk that way about Skyrim! It's no Morrowind but...

I just.. lol, I just don't like people. I just don't' like ignorant people at all.

I know what you mean but this is a societal problem in my opinion. If you're curious and ask questions people tell you to shut it, and in the end you do and become like them. Stupid and ignorant. We don't encourage free thought and exploration enough. Only WORK WORK WORK. You train for this now you WORK and worship the GDP.

 

[iwanttofight]

The DJ's say never to talk about religion, politics, the news, or any touchy subjects with a woman. But I say hogwash, be a man and tell her how you feel with no remorse of her fellings. That is being a true alpha male. People will respect you for actually being able to think for yourself. That is what a alpha male wolf does and the rest of the p*ssy wolves follow.

 

[Atom Smasher]

bb,

Get used to it. When a person has significantly above-average intelligence, they are usually destined for a chronically lonely life unless they happen to fall into a career that provides peers who have similar intelligence.

I've always had the same problem. It is very difficult to avoid getting upset with the rampant stupidity all around you. Sometimes it is literally mind-blowing.

We sometimes forget how the media has dumbed down society to a remarkable degree. Proof: Read any writings pre-1960... Any literature at all, whether fiction or non-fiction. The farther back in history you go, the more intelligence is evident in the writing and the more you need to think about and digest what you're reading.

The writers of the early 1900s (for example) assumed a certain level of intelligence in their readership, and that level of intelligence was common back then (in anyone with a reasonable education). Back then, intelligence and striving toward harnessing the mind was valued very highly. This is the normal state of mankind.

But since around 1962, the intelligence level of any form of writing has plummeted. Now emotion and casualness is revered above all else. Adults are writing more and more like teenagers and children, largely because that is what the public hungers for... Intellectual junk food. But this is definitely and chicken and egg dynamic.

The powers that be (the handful of people who actually run this world) have a vested interest in dumbing down and drugging up the population and the media is the perfect tool to do so. Most of the population today have been conditioned into becoming sheep. Sheep are very easy to control, and very easily led to the slaughter.

So what's an intelligent person to do in such a climate? You can either let it consume you with frustration, or use your own intelligence to set an example for and to educate others.

I have come to know that there is a certain class of men who garner a lot of respect as they age. Those are the men who hold on to their integrity, project a sense of control, are very patient and longsuffering with those who are less intelligent, do not fly off the handle but instead pick their battles carefully and strike with deadly force after planning and thinking in lieu of immediately emotionally reacting, and who do not use foul language.

Yes, you heard that right. Foul language is the great social equalizer that levels a person down to the common. Have you ever noticed a vague disappointment when you heard someone you respected and looked up to curse? It was a sudden display of lack of control. A person who refrains from foul language garners a lot of respect because they seem almost etherially "above it all", unaffected and in control. They also seem more intelligent than the sheep. The word I'm looking for here is "refined".

Foul language is intellectual laziness verbalized.

So getting back to the subject at hand, I think it's important for a man of intelligence to accept the facts as they are and resolve to be a teacher of others. That is the burden and yet privilege of the intellectual. Life demands that we develop and use our gifts for the betterment of mankind.

Intelligence is a very lonely gift. It can never be any different. But I'd rather leverage my intelligence toward educating and setting examples for others than to let that feeling of separation eat away at me. Easier said than done, but I'm learning. Great gifts can consume a man if not harnessed and put to use for the betterment of the world.

 

[Amo]

I sympathize with this so much. It's the reason I have three goals in life: to get rich, to open my own school, and to be President.

I want to get rich so I can do the other two.

I want to open my own school so I can educate people in what I feel is the right way. A lot more emphasis on the physical body (the physical and the mental are equals) for everybody, much more open-ended lessons, and a generally more stimulating curriculum.


I want to be President just because I'm tired of politician bullsh*t. It's still a long way down the road for me, but I'd like to run as a no-bullsh*t candidate - my only fear is that it may not work. But there is so much that could be fixed in America if only we could get everyone to focus again.

I kinda went on a tangent there, but I agree. Intelligent people are hard to come by. I make no presumption of intelligence - I can't make heads or tails of politics or the stock market or the economy or anything considered intelligent, but I like learning. I've always wanted to get rich early so I'd be able to go out and do EVERYTHING - learn a little bit of everything the world has to offer, try every job the world has to offer.

After all, specialization is for insects.

 

[FairShake]

I feel the same way sometimes. But like anything else you need your release valve. My release valves is my nerd friends who talk politics, religion, philosophy, go to museums and historical sites, etc. They are actually a majority of my people.

That said people are smarter and more interesting than us Einsteins acknowledge. They aren't used to speaking like that and it's tough to bring it out of them but it's there in just about everyone if you look deep enough. It takes skill to find it though.

 

[Marvin Gaye]

This is why I love this site! Topics like these. Most of the time threads consist of, "How soon to call back?" but once in a while you find a diamond in the rough like this one.

bb,
f immediately emotionally reacting, and who do not use foul language.

Yes, you heard that right. Foul language is the great social equalizer that levels a person down to the common. Have you ever noticed a vague disappointment when you heard someone you respected and looked up to curse? It was a sudden display of lack of control. A person who refrains from foul language garners a lot of respect because they seem almost etherially "above it all", unaffected and in control. They also seem more intelligent than the sheep. The word I'm looking for here is "refined".

Foul language is intellectual laziness verbalized.
.

This really opened my eyes. I recently went to visit an old teacher. We started discussing public teacher vs. private teaching, and I was disappointed to hear how she spoke about the education system. She swore more than I liked to hear..maybe she thought I'd grown more as a equal to her? Not sure.


Reading posts like Atom Smashers' and backbreakers' is really enthralling though. Thanks bros

 

[user43770]

Think as you like, but behave like others.

"If you make a show of going against the times, flaunting your unconventional ideas and unorthodox ways, people will think that you only want attention and that you look down upon them. They will find a way to punish you for making them feel inferior. It is far safer to blend in and nurture the common touch. Share your originality only with tolerant friends and those who are sure to appreciate your uniqueness."

 

[Vice]

Think as you like, but behave like others.

"If you make a show of going against the times, flaunting your unconventional ideas and unorthodox ways, people will think that you only want attention and that you look down upon them. They will find a way to punish you for making them feel inferior. It is far safer to blend in and nurture the common touch. Share your originality only with tolerant friends and those who are sure to appreciate your uniqueness."

This pretty much sums up my first post in this thread, yo.

I used to be in the same boat, and then I realized that those who are worthy will show themselves.

And I don't show judgement to those who aren't "worthy".

You know, not everyone can be the bawss.

It's the way of the world. There's the earthworms, there's the birds, the fish, the tiger. Don't fight the current of the way things are, accept them and channel them to your gain.

In short, those who refuse to figure out what they want are doomed to be controlled by those who do.

Don't fight it brah, find a way to channel it for your own gain.

Oh, and I totally disagree with the topic title. I think being intelligent in America today is easier than ever.

 

[ArcBound]

If you feel this way it's because of the environment you are in plain and simple. I work in a research lab several hours a day and I've met people both smart and wise in various subjects..If I ever wanted to debate politics or talk about current events there are always people to do so with in my university...It isn't hard to find.

Don't get me wrong I hate people who take pride in not knowing anything as well, but to say it is IMPOSSIBLE to find people to intelligently converse with, I think is a lie.

 

[Burroughs]

Well if you want to make a deal in the music industry at the highest level all the label bosses swear like faggots in a bathhouse....the only ones that DON'T swear are the ones with zero power.

Though in the real world Atom you're absolutely right.

 

[PrettyBoyAJ]

I'm 21. I like to think of myself as intelligent.

It's a shame to see people in college act like they from the hood when they are from the suburbs. Why dumb yourself down? Is that the cool thing to do? 90% of people at my school are like this. Even if you are from the hood why do you want to act ignorant. I'm trying to seperate myself from all the foolishness but sometimes I just feel like punching these fools.

This one chick I started messing with started talking "gangsta" and she asked me if I liked her "hood" impression. I asked her why do you want to dumb yourself down? She gave me a sad expression on her face.

Can't wait to get outta the college population and deal with folks on my level!

 

[Atom Smasher]

I thought I'd catch a lot of heat from you guys, but it looks like you all are smarter than I thought.

But seriously, I fully understand that when you're very young, you swear like mad. Everybody does it. It's actually a bonding mechanism. But when you start to mature, the meaning of it changes and it brings you down to the common in people's eyes.

Remember in Green's 48 where he talks about that French king who acted not like a king who was above the people but rather just like the people themselves? He took on the affectations of the commoner. He was made a fool of by the power brokers and the people grew to despise him.

That is because people of average intelligence are always looking for a leader who is above them. A leader in some measure relieves them of responsibility.

This can be extrapolated out to game. A single women rejects you for one reason only... she perceives that her value is higher than yours. She sees you as a commoner. She can only submit to a man who has more power and more perceived value than she. That's why we need to develop our self-respect and act like men of integrity. We need to display backbone enough to squelch her "you-know-what" tests (Lol, I can't say it in this thread!)

I believe that a man should strive to be a king in his life. That means learning how to be a servant/leader (a leader who has absolute power because his underlings understand that he is looking out for them and protecting them).

To have a foul mouth when you are a leader is a serious liability to your credibility, except in some generally corrupt circles. I have observed that in an organization, when the leader is given to crude humor and free use of foul language, scandal of some kind erupts and the organization falls. That scandal may not even originate from him on the surface but in reality it does, because he is the one who set the tone in the organization, which his underlings emulate.

I always feel, why would I want to align myself with crudeness? Why wouldn't I want people to think of me as refined and classy? I try to avoid foul language as much as possible in R/L because I want to perpetuate an air of class. If my friends or aquaintances ever heard me swear, they would be shocked and hugely disappointed. I remember years ago letting a curse word fly one day and a person who knew me had that shocked and disappointed look on their face.

Will I swear if I'm alone and I hit my finger with a hammer? Yes, I usually will. It helps the pain! But if it happens in the company of others I withhold it as an exercise in self-contol and to maintain class under duress.

Most of you guys in your teens and early twenties won't be able to fully grasp this yet, simply because as I said, swearing is a bonding process in that age group, by and large. But as you get out into the working world, I advise you to strive to be better than the minions and become their king.

Are you aware that a janitor can be a king? He absolutely can. It's all about how you carry yourself and how you convey your own self-respect. We teach others how to treat us largely by how we project ourselves onto the world. This also entails expectation management, but that's for another day.

From now on I will be banning anyone in this forum who swears. Just joking, but at least consider my points in the context of how you perceive others whom you respect. Chances are that the people you respect most have pretty good control over their tongue.

If you strive to be a king in life, people will hand leadership to you on a silver platter on many different levels, because you appear as the natural choice to fill a void in their lives. You are above them (in a respectful, admirable way) and they will feel the need for you to take a leadership position.

People are always looking for leaders both in business and in social circles. And every women is looking for a leader. They pine away for a man who can break them and display dominance.

 

[Atom Smasher]

Well if you want to make a deal in the music industry at the highest level all the label bosses swear like faggots in a bathhouse....the only ones that DON'T swear are the ones with zero power.

Though in the real world Atom you're absolutely right.

Yes, and those execs are the lowest scum of the earth; truly given over to greed to the point being quite capable of destroying (literally) anyone who gets in their way. Speak publically against them, and they warn you with public humiliation. Do it again and you're dead.

Naturally, certain business cultures cultivate swearing to the point that you are indeed the odd man out if you don't join in. The adolescent bonding process has been arrested for these people, and the concept of rising above the minions is not necessary for them because of the money, power, and strong-arm tactics that are already in place.

But in our little worlds, our economy is different, as you suggest, and acting with class and refinement can take you very far.

 

[Burroughs]

Yes, and those execs are the lowest scum of the earth; truly given over to greed to the point being quite capable of destroying (literally) anyone who gets in their way. Speak publically against them, and they warn you with public humiliation. Do it again and you're dead.

Naturally, certain business cultures cultivate swearing to the point that you are indeed the odd man out if you don't join in. The adolescent bonding process has been arrested for these people, and the concept of rising above the minions is not necessary for them because of the money, power, and strong-arm tactics that are already in place.

\.

Yes 100%

And that's the sad thing. I experienced it firsthand...if you wish to rise through these corrupt enterprises you either destroy or be destroyed..it is truly a zero sum game, which is quite sad because there is a larger world out there filled with sunshine and light, there is no need to worship darkness.

And yet humans seem to.

 

[Vice]

Yes 100%

And that's the sad thing. I experienced it firsthand...if you wish to rise through these corrupt enterprises you either destroy or be destroyed..it is truly a zero sum game, which is quite sad because there is a larger world out there filled with sunshine and light, there is no need to worship darkness.

And yet humans seem to.

My former real estate investor mentor used to be in the music business, and he told me that the music business (Hip-hop at least) was all about schmoozing the other players in hopes of getting in on the next track, and that would include spending inordinate amounts of money on clubs, liquor. limos, etc. He made well over $120k in one year but spent everything on that stuff, and then got in major trouble with the IRS because he wasn't keeping track of how he was spending it. He used mostly cash from ATMs.

He's straightened up now, but there's still traces of that mindset left behind, as he has been caught lying red-handed to other investors.

 

[BigJimbo]

I'm 21. I like to think of myself as intelligent.

It's a shame to see people in college act like they from the hood when they are from the suburbs. Why dumb yourself down? Is that the cool thing to do? 90% of people at my school are like this. Even if you are from the hood why do you want to act ignorant. I'm trying to seperate myself from all the foolishness but sometimes I just feel like punching these fools.

This one chick I started messing with started talking "gangsta" and she asked me if I liked her "hood" impression. I asked her why do you want to dumb yourself down? She gave me a sad expression on her face.

Can't wait to get outta the college population and deal with folks on my level!

Because most of American is f----- boring! Most suburban men are lost and confused. They get married to tramps and have kids that they MUST support. They worship the p----!. That is why I love Ukraine! In Ukraine you can get a fresh attractive virgin when you are 50. You see gorgeous girls EVERY freakin' day. If you have money or the right passport you quit worshiping the p----. You don't rush into relationships. You act as a man should act. It is a number's game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v7uzXrIGYU&feature=related
Ah, the "s--t" that is Eastern Ukraine. Road rage results of two Lexus LX's. See, if American boys knew about the "culture" in my world then American black dudes would seem boring. Super dad's and men who marry 35 year old women are like Bigfoot in Ukraine. You hear about it, but you never actually see such a thing. Remember, that is the poorest region of Ukraine. You still see nicer cars than I ever have on the Upper East side. Plus, the people who drive them are always what I was told to abhor in America. BTW, I adore that dead animal on that woman's back. One day my 17 year old wife will be gifted with such a treasure.

 

[Upside]

Someone tried to convince me today that the odds of getting a girl pregnant is 50% when you don't take into account active birth control. What?

I even tried to explain using basic weighted probabilities that it is not such a case. There are SOOOOOOOOO many factors the go into it. Ovulation time, temperature, etc.

I even showed him http://ec.princeton.edu/questions/risk.html

(princeton ffs)

and all he did was say "it happens" or "it doesn't" therefore, there is a 50% chance. I couldn't even continue with the conversation because my mind was literally blown. Unless my statistics courses in university failed me, what is this I don't even.

 

[Burroughs]

My opinion is, no one cares how intelligent you are. In fact, the oligarchy controlling this nation prefers that you're NOT a freethinking individual. Freethinkers are dangerous to the system. Adolph Hitler once said, "What luck for leaders that men don't think.". It's easier for most to simply fit in and turn a blind eye to life's many ugly existences. Too many average people continue to deny that their quality of life suffers while the oligarchy continues to prosper more than ever.

The corporate and political elite don't want you to think. They just want you to conform and consume.

Very true

Look at the whole sh!tstorm that is facebook.

They make (so they claim) 4 dollars per user...but their IPO values them at 120 dollars per user!

Where are they going to get that extra 116 dollars per user going forward? Out of zuckerberg's azz?

NO...facebook as a moneymaking platform is dead in the water, I think even the 4 dollar per user number is a hoax. People are leaving facebook in droves because of recent privacy issues..and yet

the march towards IPO continues.

Truly, humans don't think